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Re: "Woman killed Friday night while crossing 99E near Gladstone," (posted Aug. 20), there is a crossing island at Hull Street. It might have made the difference in this tragedy.

"randy2"

Re: Woman killed Friday night while crossing 99E near Gladstone, because of ORS 814.020 (http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/814.html), the driver won't even be charged. Under this Oregon law, you can just run down pedestrians and cyclists at will.

"Mathew Badeau"

Re: "Red-light cameras don't always make us safer," (Aug. 10 issue), "We said, 'What in the world are these drivers doing?'"

They were being observant. This statement summarizes the case for red-light cameras quite well. Anytime a driver is forced to suddenly avoid rear-ending the car in front of them when approaching an intersection with a yellow light, they are NOT paying sufficient attention to what is going on in front of them. When the light is yellow and there is a vehicle in front of you, you should be reacting to the SAME situation that the driver in front of you is reacting to.

Fortunately, statistics show that people tend not to be seriously injured in rear-end collisions. It's the deaths that occur when drivers run red lights that are sort of a bummer.

"an alert driver"

Re: Milwaukie light rail commitment based on 'quicksand of lies,' (Aug. 17 issue), Milwaukie can be accused of bag attention from "blight rail" to plastic bags.

The plastic bag issue is an obvious diversion from critical issues, e.g., TriMet's MAX Orange Line, a superfluous light rail incursion wherein an "unmistakable majority believe should be halted in its tracks completely - or, at least terminated at the Clackamas County line."

For sure, the egregiously costly $200 million-per-mile construction project to Park Avenue is NOT in Milwaukie's best interests, even though Mayor Jeremy Ferguson, also a TriMet employee, "twitches" that issue be inconspicuously bagged and/or flushed down into some twilight zone where voters don't know squat. Ha!

Folks, show the governmentium politicos the d'oh and encourage common-sense thinkers like Ed Zumwalt to lead in restoring common sense in Clackamas (vs. Calamitous) County, and free good folks like DaVinci's, et al, from the transit agency's cancerous metastasizing, please!

"wnd"

Re: "Bruning eyes Milwaukie for Rivers-style project," Metro and the Legislature are pushing to add more employment lands to the Portland region (read: expand the Urban Growth Boundary).

Why would the regional government and local "partners" want to negate 30-60 acres of prime employment lands for commercial, which right now is diluted? See McLoughlin Boulevard and the 82nd Corridor. Also, isn't the agreed-upon goal of regional partners to grow within, not outward? By saturating the commercial inventory with more commercial, employment land demand is pushing out past the line.

A baseball park is not a highly rated employment venture, nor the commercial synergy that might result with added commercial. In the meantime, the city, the school district and venture investors might look downtown, including the lands being available and used by the school district (such as Milwaukie High School campus holdings).

If there is some sort of sports complex, why would a spec developer need 30-60 acres and more car culture around a light rail station? What occurred with the airport MAX and subsequent big-box, commercial sprawl, such low-density development spread out over 30-60 acres, is not a wise use of limited real estate "close in." If the developer wanted to build under or over the stadium, that might be a horse of a different color, if the policy makers and budgeteers of Milwaukie decide a stadium is more important than an employment base.

These sorts of land use "exceptions" in the region are "killing us" and our future aspirations of urban infill (rather than pushing sprawl further east), just like a used auto yard taking over the less than perky Kmart at the intersection of S.E. 82nd Avenue, the Milwaukie Expressway and I-205.

Think about our infrastructure investments and whether we are using them effectively over the next 50 years.

Further, how will urban Clackamas County and its urban cities support about 360,000 new residents projected by regional partners within the next few decades?

Re: "Bruning eyes Milwaukie for Rivers-style project," do what's right for your local economy. Don't make the mistakes our commission made in Oregon City. Move on it and support development. It's nice to see your mayor be supportive. Now get the rest of your commission on board!

"John"

Re: "Bruning eyes Milwaukie for Rivers-style project," Bruning thinks that OC is still in the dark ages of development. Wait till he has to deal with Milwaukie. Good luck, Mr. Bruning.

"Neighbor of Milwaukie"

Re: "Libraries: A popular 'staycation,'" I as a teenager loved that old library and remember riding the trolley from Oak Grove to Milwaukie to get a selection of books for summer reading.

I wonder if anyone besides me remembers the bookmobile that came to our neighborhood and we could take out books and return them on the next bookmobile visit.